Merchandise display rack



July 23, 1935. a T. CROW MERCHANDISE DISPLAY RACK Filed Sept. 21, 1933 INVENTOR Patented July 23, 1935: 7 r 2,008,748

UNITED STATES PATENT -OFFI-CE o MERCHANDISE DISPLAY RACK Glenn T. Crow, Roseville, Galif. 7 Application September 21, iesalscriai No. 690,33

1 Claim. (01. 211-3 1).,

This invention relates to display racks and to the interior on the bottom. The front edges particularly to one especially designed for the of the standards slope back toward the top and display of shoes in retail stores. near their'upper end said standards at the front Theprincipal object of my invention is to proare cut back a certain distance horizontally as 5 vide a structure of this character so arranged indicated at 2. The standards are removably tied 5 that a large number of pairs of shoes of difierent together in the back bydiagonally extending styles and of practically all standard sizes may bars 3. The back edges of the standards are rebe attractively and simultaneously displayed in cessed as at 4 to receive theend of the bars so a secure and yet readily removable manner, so that the'latter will not project from the back that prospective customers can readily see the edges of the standards to interfere with the plac- I0 shoes for themselves from practically all angles Of e y against a Well if desired-v without handling them. The rack is als de- To aid in removably mounting the bars and signed 50 that it may conveniently support price, to enable the width'between the standards to be style and size tags adjacent the different shoes altered somewhat, the back edges of the standards in readily noticeable positions. The use of my n t pp recesses 4 are provided With Vertical Ill! improved rack in a store is therefore a help both o s 5 t a g a r pp ends'ih to the clerks and customers, since the customers l d Openings The Slots are Sllfiieienfly i can inspect the various shoes for themselves. and t0 receive the rivets OI bolts 7 which are mounted the clerks may give their full attention to trying in the here at their pp While the D on and fitting any particular shoes chosen to the ihgs 5 ar 0f Sufiieiehl? size t0 e v t ner 20 customers feet, and in subsequently closing the heads of Said O meunt thehels sale and wrapping u the purchase, fore the lower ends are first secured in place in A further object is to con tru t th r k 50 the'corresponding' recesses and the rivet heads that it may be readily knocked down for shipment areinserted through the openings 6 and lowered and so that the various parts then occupy a mindown the E thus Spreading the'standards un- 25 imum of space. I have also arranged th k til the desired spacing'of the same is obtained. structure so that it may be set up in the forrnof The Standard-S Connected at the p y a individual separate units or it may be assembled sheet metal unit which comprises a h re as a number of' adjacent sections with the use of m 011 the 011i e portion 0f the Standards, a

a minimum number of parts flanges rigid with'the shelf and overlapping the 30 A further object of'the in enti i t produce front edge of the standards, a vertical wall H] a simple and inexpensive device and yet one at the back of the shelf extending to and above which will be exceedingly effective for the purthe p 0f the Standards SOmeWhet, a p Strip pose for which it i desi n d resting on the top of the standards, and a flange These objects I accomplish by means of such 52 rigid w sa rip a d v ppin the ba k 35 structure and relative arrangement of parts as edge of the stehdel'dsh Strip H is hinged t will full appear by perusal of th following the wall it! as at E3 and the wall It! is hinged to specification and laim, the shelf 8 as at M in such a manner that the In the drawing similar characters of reference strip unit may be relatively unfolded so s t l 40 indicate corresponding parts in the several views. out flat With the exception of the flanges, the 0 Fig. lis a perspective view of the rack, depth of which is less than the interior width of Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary trans e the standards. In this manner said unit, whose section of the upper portion of the r k, length is less than that of the standards, may be Fig. 3 is a fragmentary ba k vi of th rack inserted in one standard from the. bottom when Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front view of the rack pp the Structure- The S p unit s r v- 45 showing a certain number of shoes in position y mounted 011 t Standards y a y Su table thereon. means such as by screws through the front and Fig 5 is a, bottom plan iew of one of the hollow back flanges as indicated. The wall In extending end standards, showing the other parts of the ab ve t e St p I forms a p eXtenSiOn I5 1 rack disposed therein for storage. a purpose which will be seen later. 50 Referring now more particularly to the char- 7 The standards are provided with vertically exacters of reference on the drawing, the rack comtending transversely spaced rows of holes IE to prises a pair of-spaced end standards I. These receive rods IT. The transversely spacedbars are preferably of sheet metal of rectangular form are preferably disposed at different levels, as

in section and of hollow construction and openshown, and only occupy certain ones of the holes, 5'

the remaining holes serving as a means of adjusting the position of the rods relative to each other. The length of the rods is less than the distance between the outer faces of the standards or so that they terminate inside the same, as shown in Fig. 3. Said rods are removably held against longitudinal shifting by rubber washers I8 removably pressed onto the rods and engaging the inner faces of the standards.

The holes I6 are in both walls of the hollow standards as shown, so that any one standard may be used as a common support for two sets of rods in the event that it is desired to erect the structure as a number of adjacent rack sections. Also the length of the rods is less than the height of the standards so that said rods may be backed in one of the standards for shipment. The same is true of the brace or connecting bars 3.

In placing the shoes on the rack for display, the shoes of one style but of different sizes are preferably disposed in substantially vertical alinement from the top down. The extension I5 serves as a locating means and a support for the heel I 9 of a shoe 20 so that the latter hangs down toward the shelf 8 and rests against the wall I0, the height of said wall 8 being greater than the length of any shoe so that the top edge of the thin extension I5 always engages the corner formed between the heel and the instep. In this manner there is no tendency for the shoe after having been once placed to tip sideways or become otherwise dislodged. The companion shoe of the pair is supported on and extends lengthwise of the shelf 8 and of the rack, as shown in Fig. 4. The customer therefore has a view of both shoes of the pairs from different angles or View points. Said extension I5 also serves as a support for the price and style tag holder 2! which is displayed to one side of and adjacent the depending shoe.

Other pairs of shoes of the same style but of different sizes are supported on corresponding pairs of rods I! in vertically alined relation. The back rod engages the instep of the shoe just in front of the heel as shown in Fig. 2 while the front rod engages the fold of the shoe near the toe. The shoes are thus supported in facing relation to the front of the rack and the customer with a'downward slant, but they cannot possibly slip forward or get out of place. At the same time it is very easy to remove the shoes from the rack when desired. The front rods also serve as supporting means for the size tags 22 which are disposed adjacent the corresponding pairs of shoes, as indicated in Fig. 4.

To cover and protect the shoes when the store is closed and preventing dust from possibly settling thereon, I mount a spring retracted curtain rod 23 of conventional form between the standards just under the shelf 8 and back of the flange 9 so that it is normally concealed from sight. If therefore the rack is disposed close against the wall, no dust can get to the shoes from behind, nor can it settle from above on account of the top metal strip cover, and when the curtain is pulled down the entire rack area is completely enclosed as will be obvious.

While I have shown and described this device as being particularly designed for use in displaying shoes, it'is obvious that it may be used for the display of other merchandise, since the relative level of the rods may be altered as may be necessary to support packages or articles of different forms other than shoes.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A shoe supporting rackcomprising in combination a pair of spaced end standards, transversely spaced rows of horizontal shoe supporting members extending between the standards, the corresponding members in each row being in vertically staggered relation, a step formed at the upper end of each standard, said step comprising two off-set horizontal surfaces and an intermediate vertical surface, and a foldable hinged shelf unit adapted to rest atop the spaced end standards and to cooperate with the steps, said shelf unit comprising three relatively long flat members. hinged together, the central member being extended beyond the hinges along one edge to form an upstanding shoe supporting flange when the unit is mounted on the standard, and downwardly extending rigid retaining flanges secured along the outer edges of the outer shelf members.

GLENN T. CROW. 

